Searching History

AncestryLibrary:
I did not find any info about me on AncestryLibrary.  I did find a marriage license for a woman with my same name in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 
There is a lot of information on my grandparents.  I learned that I would have to do some research because my grandparents and great grandparents have family names.  Most of my relatives on my dad's side were named John, but I know them by there middle names.  So I was unsure of whose census information I was actually looking at.  I would have to ask my parents for more information to know for sure.  I found out that when my maternal grandfather was 10, there was a hired hand living with them from Wisconsin who was included on the census.  I also learned that my grandpa lived in Illinois before his family moved to South Dakota.
I love looking at old photos because it reveals so much history.  My favorite photo was Gathering fuel on South Dakota Homestead, 1880's.  It shows a woman collecting buffalo chips to burn to keep warm.  I think the photo shares a glimpse into what it was like to homestead in South Dakota.  It was challenging, but the settlers did all that they could to survive and create a home for their families.

HeritageQuest:
I searched under Places for Edgemont, South Dakota.  There were several hits, but I chose to look closer at History of Dakota Territory by George W. Kingsbury with a date of 1915.
There were 7 hits in this book for Edgemont, SD.  The book listed biographies of men in the Dakota Territory.  I enjoyed reading about people who used to live and work in Edgemont.  There were names and businesses that I recognized.  Yet there were many things that I learned.  I was born and raised in Edgemont and my great-grandparents homesteaded outside of town 100 years ago.  So it was interesting to read about some of the people that were around at the same time as them.

Sanborn Maps:
I looked at maps of Hot Springs, SD in May of 1923.  I found Evans Plunge, the County Court House, the Braun Bath House and Hotel, and the South Dakota State Soldier's Home.  I looked at the August 1891 map and found one of the buildings for the Soldier's Home.  It was fun to look at the different maps and compare them.